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August 04, 2018

Moderate Dems, if there are any, not welcome at Netroots

The political sides are moving farther apart. Conservatives hold out hope that at least some Democrats will see the advantages of the things most conservatives and libertarians want in a government. But the far left seems to have a hard grip on progressives and run of the mill Democrats.

NEW ORLEANS — Centrist Democrats for months have nudged the party’s left flank to avoid the kind of strident partisanship and outright provocations that Donald Trump could seize on to whip up Republicans voters in the midterms.

The response from the progressive base this week? Shove off.

Arriving here Thursday for the annual progressive gathering Netroots Nation, several thousand activists and organizers teed up a program laced with presentations on Trump’s ties to Russia, “warmongering and bigotry” and “protecting the Mueller investigation.” They depicted Trump’s immigration policies as racist, cheered efforts to block his border wall and plotted next steps for “fighting the global right” — all while amplifying calls to impeach Trump.

“The winning strategy is not chasing after Trump voters or moderating our message,” said Aimee Allison, president of the progressive advocacy group Democracy in Color. “Democrats need to be holding Trump accountable. … They need to be up in arms every day talking about Trump, and they’re too timid. They’re too quiet. ...

And, invoking former first lady Michelle Obama’s 2016 campaign message, “when they go low, we go high,” Monica Roberts, a transgender rights advocate from Texas, told fellow progressives, “The Democratic Party needs to get some balls … There are some times in political life that you have to go World Wrestling Federation on people.”

Does anyone else want to say "WTF" when a transgender rights advocate talks about getting balls?